The rise of green jeans: when it comes to denim, we should all shop sustainably

There's more to denim than a good fit...

IDEN denim

IDEN

13 April 2018

Planet Fashion loves denim. Planet Earth has an opposing view.

Each year, 70 million pairs of jeans are sold in the UK and many of us own more pairs than there are days of the week to wear them.

But the denim industry is bad business as far as Mother Nature is concerned, with up to 2,000 gallons of water used to make a single pair. Not to mention the huge amounts of pesticides from cotton production and the toxins associated with the synthetic dyeing process.

“Denim is very tricky for someone who’s into sustainable fashion,” says Cora Hilts, co-founder of luxury eco e-tailer Rêve en Vert, “it’s one of the worst offenders in the industry.”

But should figure-conscious fit always come second to ethically minded fabric? And does denim that doesn’t wreck the planet have to cost the earth? Or can you have it all when it comes to great jeans with good intentions?

E.L.V Denim

For Hilts there are a few no-brainer ways to ensure your jeans are green. “Choosing classic styles that will last you a lifetime is step number one,” she says. “Trends in denim are the reason we all feel we need to buy many pairs, and these fashions can be horribly detrimental to people and planet.” She highlights distressed denim and its chemical ageing process as a main culprit and suggests organic or vintage denim instead as a way to ensure harmful pesticides and wastewater are avoided in production.

Demand from an increasingly socially aware consumer, who studies their care labels as carefully as the recycling instructing on their plastic packaging, has also led to a rise in brands that count cleaning up denim’s bad reputation as a common thread. Next week, G-Star Raw’s Most Sustainable Jeans Ever — which were dyed using the cleanest indigo dyeing process in the world and are currently yours for £130 — will find a home in the V&A’s Fashioned From Nature exhibition. Here are four more clean-jean brands that get the green light.

1. ELV Denim

Turning one woman’s trash into another’s treasure is a full-time occupation for ELV Denim, which creates franken-denim jeans created from two halves of vintage pairs. The entire production is remade by hand in its east London studio and not a single scrap of fabric is wasted. Made-to-measure prices start at £490, but Rêve en Vert has snapped up bragging rights to a core collection of its denim jackets and jeans available off-the-peg while stocks last.

£290, reve-en-vert.com

Reformation

2. Reformation

Cool cult LA label Reformation, which boasts the tagline “being naked is the #1 most sustainable option. Reformation is #2” has welcomed the launch of a brand new denim line. With 11 cuts in 14 washes made using 100 per cent deadstock, recycled and sustainably sourced fabrics, Reformation Jeans uses only a third of the amount of water and cotton in traditional production and non-chlorine-based bleaches to eliminate harmful chemicals. Plus, it’s also introduced The Wet Program. “For every jean you buy, we will clean an additional thousand gallons of water,” says founder Yael Aflalo. So far, the site declares that its denim initiative has saved a total of 3,468,000 gallons of water, 87,000lb of carbon dioxide and 26,000lb of waste — and counting.

£91, thereformation.com

IDEN

3. IDEN

Brit brand IDEN launched in Fenwick last month with the aim of offering premium, sustainable jeans that are pocket-friendly too, with “trend-scending” jeans spanning staple skinnies and faithful boyfriends starting at £125. The focus is on sourcing BCI (Better Cotton Initiative) fabric from mills located near the factories to keep the carbon footprint down, with over half the current range compromising organic and recycled materials. Wastewater from the washing and dyeing process is cleaned before it’s returned to the local system, while buttons and rivets have been given the Bluesign seal of approval. Keep-forever denim jackets, cashmere-blend T-shirts and organic knits complete the pure and simple offering.

£195, idendenim.com

Kings of Indigo

4. Kings of Indigo

Dutch brand Kings of Indigo has been ranked as Europe’s number one sustainable denim brand thanks to its totally transparent production policy. Eco innovations include chemical-free laser and ozone wash techniques that reduce water consumption by half, natural dye techniques and a solar-powered HQ. What’s more, Kings of Indigo is a member of the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) — an initiative dedicated to improving labour standards in the clothing industry. The brand even provides a repair kit to maximise the lifespan of your jeans.

From £80, hubshop.co.uk

MORE ABOUT

Denim

Reformation

sustainable fashion

The rise of green jeans: when it comes to denim, we should all shop sustainably

Read More